community at 37,000ft

I've just gotten back from a friend's wedding in Germany. We flew there and back, and it's the first time I've been on a plane in five years or so. As we floated through the sky in a large metal tube, kicking chalk out of the engines as we went, I twice received gifts of kindness from strangers. Due to the immense heat, the diam encrusted milka I was munching melted, causing a plane travellers nightmare: sticky fingers. The lady next door offered me a wet wipe, and suddenly a burst of freshness came over me.

After the flight had landed, I left the plane. With my feet on the ground (but my head still firmly in the clouds!) I left my coat on the plane. A kind passenger reminded my friend that I was wearing a coat when I came on the plane. A new coat, which I had bought the week before nonetheless! I ran back onto the plane, and in German (even though the cabin crew were bilingual!) I explained that I had left my jacket on the plane. As I entered the cabin once again, there, accompanying my coat down the aisle was a german man. He passed me my coat. "Thankyou!" I exclaimed loudly.

The small things blow me away sometimes: the kindness of strangers, the friendship that you find in the most desolate places. An expression of community at 37,000ft.